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Lady Themis, Internet Researcher

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MY daughter got a call from a Collection Agency saying she

Resolved Question:

MY daughter got a call from a Collection Agency saying she owed money on a credit card she supposedly opened up back in 2008. She says she never opened the account but of corse it has her name and social security number. They say if she will settle with a down payment and payment plan they will not sue her but if she doesn't settle they will sue her and add atty fees and costs to what she owes. Can they do this withiout ever notifying her of this alleged debt. I thought they would have to of sent her something regarding the debt she says she owes.

The debt collector is supposed to follow up the initial contact with a written verification of the amount owed and the name of the original creditor. Failing to do so is a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). If your daughter disputes the debt in writing, the debt collector cannot contact her again unless it is to inform her that a lawsuit is pending.

If a lawsuit is filed without the debt collector ever verifying the debt in writing, that is actionable under the FDCPA and your daughter can sue civilly for damages and attorneys fees. Once the lawsuit is filed, she can counterclaim with that and provide any other defenses she may have. The debt collector would still have to prove that she owes the debt in some way in order to collect on it in a lawsuit.

What do you mean by filed without the debt collector ever verifying the debt in writing. Verifying it by who in writing. So are you saying if my daughter has never received anything in writing stating she owes the debt, even though they may say they sent something to her address, but she had moved, they can't file a lawsuit or they can and it would be up to her then to counter sue them. Or can she request a billing stating how much she owes and to who before they can file the lawsuit

The debt collector is obligated to send a written verification of the debt to your daughter. Failing to do so doesn't mean they can't still collect the debt, but your daughter could countersue under the FDCPA.

Yes, your daughter can request that verification from the debt collector at any time.